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Afghan Authorities Shut Down 16 Crypto Exchanges in One Week: Report
Police reportedly closed the exchanges and arrested their staff after Afghanistan's central bank stated that digital currency trading should be stopped, citing problems and scams.
Updated May 11, 2023, 4:58 p.m. Published Aug 25, 2022, 11:58 a.m.
The Afghanistan police force shut down 16 cryptocurrency exchanges in the country's western Herat province over the past week, independent local media outlet Ariana News reported on Wednesday.
- Law enforcement closed down the platforms and arrested their staff. This move came after the country's central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, stated in a letter that digital currency trading had caused "lots of problems and is scamming people," Sayed Shah Sa’adat, head of the counter-crime unit of Herat police, told Ariana News.
- The article quoted the Herat Money Exchangers' Union and local residents who are in favor of the government monitoring digital currency trading as it was something new and unfamiliar to people.
- Earlier this year, multiple reports suggested demand for cryptocurrencies in the country were on the rise, as residents looked for ways to sidestep heavy U.S. sanctions and safeguard their savings in a collapsing economy following the Taliban takeover.
- In June, the Taliban declared all foreign exchange trading is prohibited in the country, putting further pressure on the local economy.
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What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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CFTC Launches Digital Assets Pilot Allowing Bitcoin, Ether and USDC as Collateral
Acting Chair Caroline Pham has unveiled a first-of-its-kind U.S. program to permit tokenized collateral in derivatives markets, citing "clear guardrails" for firms.
What to know:
- The CFTC has launched a pilot program allowing BTC, ETH and USDC to be used as collateral in U.S. derivatives markets.
- The program is aimed at approved futures commission merchants and includes strict custody, reporting and oversight requirements.
- The agency also issued updated guidance for tokenized assets and withdrew outdated restrictions following the GENIUS Act.
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